Cultural differences have been regarded as one of the most serious challenges in offshore outsourcing projects. There has been countless discussions and talks about it but seldom do people analyze the problem and come out with a solution. A successful outsourcing project is one that overcomes the challenges and makes a profitable alliance.

The culture of a country comprises of its human knowledge, working patterns, beliefs and behaviors, values and practices. And as the name suggests, offshore outsourcing involves association of companies based in different countries to work together in order to complete a project. Therefore, there will be an interplay of different cultural forces that often leads to complexities in the project.

Difference in Cultures
Countries not only have their own cultures but also have certain work cultures. The five prime measures of cultural differences are – Power distance, Individualism, Uncertainty, Avoidance, Term of Orientation and Gender.

Western countries like US and UK have an individualistic work culture as compared to the team culture of the Asian and Latin American countries.
Japan has a masculine workforce in comparison to feminine workforce of Sweden.
Asian countries have long term orientation unlike western countries who prefer short term ones.

Apart from these, the organizational policies and general behavioral patterns differ from country to country and culture to culture as well. US is known for its informal work culture and an overbearing style of communication. In contrast, in UK the style of communication is slightly circumlocutory and the focus is on productivity. Another thing the country is well known for is strict separation of professional and personal life. Then again in India the culture is a bit different.

Another major contribution to cultural differences is the communication problem. This is because the difference in writing and using language affects the interpretation of the same by the other side. In addition, there is problem of different accents, emotional states of expression and slag usage.

Solving Cultural Differences
There are two prime ways by which companies seek to overcome these cultural differences and prevent them from affecting the offshore outsourcing project.

Promotion of cultural awareness
Cultural awareness basically involves raising awareness and making the countries sensitized towards each others cultural practices. Several workshops and sessions are organized to achieve this purpose.

Culturally compatible resource deployment
This involves having a local person manage the client relationship from onshore boundaries.

Here are some tips to overcome the problems of cultural differences and make your offshore outsourcing project a success.

To completely understand the culture of a foreign country, you need to first keep aside your judgments and prejudices. Only then can you attempt to accept the offerings of the other.

Remember that the responsibility of transcending the cultural differences lies with both the service provider and the outsourcing client. Apart from expecting your provider to understand and work according to your work culture, also make an attempt to respect their cultures.

Apart from making an effort to understand one another's cultures, the outsourcing partners should also show the understanding in their behavior. It is important to put knowledge into practice and further employ it in work proceedings.

Maneet Puri is the managing director of LeXolution IT Services, a professional IT outsourcing company based in India that offers seamless and cost competitive KPO services to its clients. His company has significant expertise in offering internet market research, virtual assistance and web mining and processing services.